


Bojack finally gets help

by Tastethatcake



Category: BoJack Horseman
Genre: Depression, Mental Health Issues, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 03:58:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tastethatcake/pseuds/Tastethatcake
Summary: The title says it all. A talk with Hollyhock makes Bojack question his coping methods.





	Bojack finally gets help

**Author's Note:**

> This is really what I want to have happen in the series tbh

Like many days before, Bojack was sitting on the couch doing nothing. Which, along with snorting coke and getting a blowjob, was one of his favourite past times. However, this wasn’t one of those times where he stared at the TV blankly and let the never-ending pain of being alive wash over him. This time, he was waiting for a phone call. 

He idly noticed how bright the sun was in his eyes and regretted buying this particular house with the huge windows for perhaps the thousandth time. It made hangovers even shittier than they had to be. And then he thought about how lucky he was to have Hollyhock in his life because she was one of the only people who actually wanted to talk to him. It was thoughts like that that made Bojack want to drink, but he couldn’t be drunk when Hollyhock called. She deserved better than that. 

The phone rang, jolting Bojack back to reality. Even though it was already in his hand, he waited a few seconds to pick up. He didn’t want to seem desperate. 

“Hi, Bojack.”

“Hollyhock, what’s going on? You almost never call. Are you safe? Is there a boy I need to beat up?”

“No, Bojack,” he could almost hear her eye roll through the phone.

“Oh. Then why can’t you just text me? You know I’m a busy man.”

Hollyhock laughed, and Bojack considered telling her to stop laughing because he wasn’t joking but bit his tongue. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” She paused, waiting for a reply, but Bojack stayed silent. He was afraid that she was going to tell him that she wasn’t allowed to talk to him anymore, or that he left a weird voicemail last night when he was drunk. “I have clinical depression.”

“Ohhhhh,” Bojack replied. “Same. Big same. Like brother, like sister, right?”

“I’m not kidding around. This is serious. I saw a psychiatrist. He’s giving me medication and says I need therapy.”

“Oh. But you seem completely fine…?”

“You know that’s not how it works. I only seem fine compared to you. You need help more than anyone.”

“I do not. I’ve lasted this long, and I’m clearly very cool, funny, and smart. I don’t need anyone’s help. I’m not a pansy.” He cringed as he spoke and smacked his forehead. Sometimes he just could not stop words from tumbling out of his mouth.

“Whatever, Bojack. I just wanted to talk to you about this, but clearly, you have your own problems to work out. Bye.”

“I love you too, sis,” Bojack said before throwing his phone onto the couch. He wanted to feel some sort of indignation, but he knew that the negative direction that conversation took was his fault. He sat for a moment with his head in his hands, allowing negative thoughts to wrack his brain, and then grabbed the phone and texted Diane.

 

—————————————————————————————————————-

 

“So what, you’re getting a divorce?” 

“We’re thinking about getting a divorce. We haven’t decided yet.”

“But why, you’ve been doing so well?” Bojack asked as he stared intently at the spaghetti in front of him, trying to get as much on his fork as possible. “I thought you loved him?”

“I do love him!” Diane protested. She hadn’t even touched her food yet. Bojack wondered if she would let him finish hers. “It’s just that… Loving him is hard. We’ve tried marriage counseling, we’ve tried moving… and everything is still just so hard.”

“Relationships should feel easy. Not that I really know from experience. I watch a lot of TV.”

Diane sighed, and then looked at Bojack. “I know you’re not here to talk about me. What’s going on?”

Bojack paused to stare at his food, not wanting to make eye contact. Then he put down his fork and said, “Hollyhock says she had depression.”

“Oh! Oh, well, that’s not surprising. She’s related to you after all.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I’m not joking.”

“I get it, my family’s fucked up. But I’m serious. I think I’m… a bad role model for her.”

Diane snorted. “Of course you are. But you’re you. You clearly cope very badly with a variety of mental illness and substance abuse disorders. It’s who you are.”

“Point taken,” Bojack replied, rolling his eyes. “But what if I wasn’t… that? Hollyhock is seeing a therapist. They’re putting her on medication.”

“Look, Bojack,” Diane said as she twirled some spaghetti on her fork. “I don’t think you can ever be a good role model for Hollyhock. But I think you should let her be a role model for you. If you think you’re ready to get help… Do it.”

 

——————————————————————————————————————

Bojack started drinking as soon as he got home. He needed to be drunk for this. He went into his room and opened up his underwear drawer, the place no one except himself would ever look into, and grabbed a card sitting at the bottom. Mr. Peanutbutter had given it to him years ago. It was for a celebrity therapist. Bojack could not understand why Mr. Peanutbutter of all people would need a therapist, but some celebrities are just needy. He had thought about calling before, usually the morning after a particularly bad night, but he had always talked himself out of it. He had always thought that therapists were for babies, but Hollyhock was no baby. In fact, she was one of the strongest people Bojack knew. If she could do it…  
He took another swig of whiskey and dialed the number. 

“Hello, my name is Bojack Horseman. I need some help.”


End file.
